The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1887-03-17
Folklore.
DEATH AND BURIAL

tcric> which surround mankind. and to solve
that which ii is beyond the power of man to
solve. favoritc subject for prophcsy among
those who have claimed the power to pierce
the veil of futurty in all ages has been the fore
| telling of the exact time when the visit of the
grim messenger might be expected; 50 we
would naturally expect to find numerous super
stitions connected with that most mysterious
and important event in mans existence, death.
believe there are no superStition> for which
the generality of mankind has much respect,
and few which are more absurd. Doubtless
| very many mortal> have been made miserable
by their belief in this class of superStitions in
deed, such are found in almost every neighbor-
hood. TO them an unusual noise or occurrence
which they cannot readily account for is uni
formly interpreted as harbngcr of their early
| demise or that of a friend. For instance one
| of our townsmen is said to have been greatly
| cast down a year ago last fall because he dis
covered one of his appc-trces in bloom late in
| the season. believing it to be Il warning that
his death was near at hand. lie still lives an.l,
doubtless. is still firm believer in the notion
| which 50 many old people hold. that when Il
| fruit tree, rose bush, oiandclion or other plant
blooms out of season, as is sometimes the ease.
| it is forertInner of its owners death. 1t j.,
| quite common thing for old people to prophc>y
the exact date of their death. In this they are
| generally guided by some trivial circumstance
Several persons within my knowledge have
clalmr't to forctcll the date of their death. and
| without success except in single instance. MY
grandfather for many years declared he should
die in the month of March, which was the
month of his death.
Here are some of the most common of the
many death-warnings which your readers will
doubtless recognize as old acqilaintanccS
The peculiar ticking sound frequently heard in
| the walls of dwellings, called by some the death
| watch, is believed to foretcll the death of some
member of the family within Il twelvc-month.
Investigation has shown that this sound is pro-
dllred by insects of several species, but this
knowledge will not rob it of its omnous mean-
| ing among the >upcr>titious. Another warm
Ing which we often hear spoken of is '.a bell in
tn" ear" which is said to be Il sign the per-
son to whom it occurs will hear of a death
soon: if in the right ear. the death of a man,
if in the left car the death of woman This
superstition is said to be current among the
pcaSantry of Scotland. who call the sound the
death bell" and believe it announces the death
of friend. We often hear it said that child
named for a deceased person ''wiI not live to
grow up" Members of the fcathered tribe are
connected with some of the most popular sU-
n III ,I.,tI a..
into house or dash against it is sign some
member of the family will die within IA year.
If the bird is killed by striking against the
house. as sometimes happens, or the bird is
Partridge, the omen is of special Importance
hen Cuckoo is seen near dwelling it has
similar Significance. In communities where
whil-poor-will> are not numerous it is accept
ed as sign there will be Il death i'm the locality
soon when one of these Song>ters is heard pip
Ing his peculiar notes When cock crows in
the night it is a sign there will be a death in tll.
neighhorhool within short time.
The lookin@-gla>S j. connected with several
>uper>titionS relating to death. The saying
that to break lookilg-.lass is sign there
will be Il death in the family soon is often
heard, if not much believed in. 1t is Il Very
common practice to cover or reverse Il mirror
that may be hanging in the room where Il
corpse lies. | have never heard any reason
given here for doing this. In some parts of
England there is Il popular notion that if
person looks into Il mirror in the chamber of
death he will the corpse looking over his
shoulder. Another forerumcr of death, whir
at one time seems to have been quite generally
received here Is such. is that the striking of 4!
clock which is out of repair or stopped for
other cause forctrl> the ,lcata of some oc,.tpant
Of The house within i Ntar. There are some
Mho stop the clock Whcn a Heath occurs in the
house. This appears to be one of the >urcr>ti-
tions the observance of which has otltiy,.l is
original import. a similar custom is observed
in England, and MIR. Dyer suggests as lis sig
nilirance that lit is to remind the survivor,
that with the deceased one time is over. and
that hcnccforth the days and hours are no
longer of any account to him." An u,-line
superstition once current here declared il
would bring death to some member of the
household to set candle on bed. Old ladies'
say that when one day of the week seems to
them like another they will soon hear of the
death OF an acquaintance. The saving that -;
bare Christmas makes full .ravc-yarl>'' is com
mon. | presume this is IN adaptation of the
English saying that 81 green Christmas makes
fat sraycyard>'' to our New England climate.
\ popular death omen is or has been the an
pearanre of the will-o'-tlle-wi>p or iack-;-lan-
tern, which is supposed to bring ti'ln.> of
death to the house near which it disappears
There are several s,pcr>ttions connected
with the dcatI-bcd which are more or less
popular here. 1t is quite common to see old
ladies get down the almanac when wat ching hy
the bed of drath->trickcn person to learn at
what hour there will be Il flood tide cIaimin.:
that Il person can only die on an rbbing tide.
1t is said Il person will Idle hard on Il bed con-
tanning Owls feathers. This is doubtless an
offspring Of the English superstition that Il
perSol cannot die on Il bed containing game
feathers. There is a notion that placing some
thing warm at the feet of diving person rell-
ders their death painful 1t is very common
for persons to touch the face of a corpse while
viewing it. We often see this done at funerals.
| have never heard person give a reason for
doing so, but have thought it might have
originated from the Old notion that if YOU
touch thing you will not dream of it. \ like
custom prevails, and, according to Mr.. Dyer,
the object is to show that the person holds the
departed no grlldgc. Mr.. d. adds. ''this prac-
tce. in all probability, originated in the bell cf
that a corpse would bleed at the touch of the
murderer, constant alllsions to which we find
| in Old authors" The practice of watching bv
corpse till the day of its burial is universal
here Speaking of this custom in England Mr..
Dyer says, ''the practice of watching the dead
body until its burial is not yet obsolete In
days gone by this practice was ATTENDED! with
every mark of respect to the deceased one, the
leading idea being to see that the devil did not
carry off the body" Itwas at one time CUSTOM
airy when a member of the family died to in
form the bees of the fact and drape their hives
in mourning. This custom appears to have been
observed in Waldo county within the last
| twenty years Whittier's poem ''Telling the
| bees" takes its title from this old-time custom
| In an appended note the author SAYS of it "a
remarkable custom, brought from the old
| country, formerly prevailed in the rural dis
| tricts of New England. On the death of a
member of the family, the bees were at once
| informed of the event, and their hives dressed
| in mourning. This ceremonial was supposed
| to be necessary to prevent the sWarms from
| leaving their hives and seeking a new home"